The South East Asian Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP): Its history and role in the ASEAN countries

Informal discussion started in 1996 and the South East Asian Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) was officially accepted as a regional chapter of the IOMP at the Chicago World Congress in 2000 with five member countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Professor Kwan-Hoong Ng served as the founding president until 2006. Brunei (2002) and Vietnam (2005) joined subsequently. We are very grateful to the founding members of SEAFOMP: Anchali Krisanachinda, Kwan-Hoong Ng, Agnette Peralta, Ratana Pirabul, Djarwani S Soejoko and Toh-Jui Wong. The objectives of SEAFOMP are to promote (i) co-operation and communication between medical physics organizations in the region; (ii) medical physics and related activities in the region; (iii) the advancement in status and standard of practice of the medical physics profession; (iv) to organize and/or sponsor international and regional conferences, meetings or courses; (v) to collaborate or affiliate with other scientific organizations. SEAFOMP has been organizing a series of congresses to promote scientific exchange and mutual support. The South East Asian Congress of Medical Physics (SEACOMP) series was held respectively in Kuala Lumpur (2001), Bangkok (2003), Kuala Lumpur (2004) and Jakarta (2006). The respective congress themes indicated the emphasis and status of development. The number of participants (countries in parentheses) was encouraging: 110 (17), 150 (16), 220 (23) and 126 (7). In honour of the late Professor John Cameron, an eponymous lecture was established. The inaugural John Cameron Lecture was delivered by Professor Willi Kalender in 2004. His lecture was titled “Recent Developments in Volume CT Scanning”.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN, is an organization comprising of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia (Figure 1).The organization was formed on 8 August 1967 by its five original member countries, i.e.Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.Over the years, the organization grew when Brunei Darussalam joined in as the sixth member on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Laos and Myanmar on 23 July 1997 and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.Its objectives include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress and cultural development among its members, as well as to promote regional peace [1].

THE BIRTH OF SEAFOMP
The spirit of ASEAN is resounded in SEAFOMP.The idea of setting up an organization for South-east Asian medical physics societies was first mooted in 1996.During the International Organization of Medical Physics (IOMP) World Congress at Nice, the formation of SEAFOMP was endorsed by member countries.The South East Asian Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) was officially accepted as a regional chapter of the IOMP at the Chicago World Congress in 2000 with five member countries, viz.Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.Figure 2 shows the logo of SEAFOMP.At that time, the founding members of SEAFOMP were Anchali Krisanachinda and Ratana Pirabul from Thailand, Kwan-Hoong Ng from Malaysia, Agnette Peralta from the Philippines, Djarwani S Soejoko from Indonesia and Toh-Jui Wong from Singapore (Figure 3).Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng served as the founding president until 2006.Two other countries joined subsequently: Brunei (2002) and Vietnam (2005).
The objectives of SEAFOMP are to promote (i) cooperation and communication between medical physics organizations in the region; (ii) medical physics and related activities in the region; (iii) the advancement in status and standard of practice of the medical physics profession; (iv) to organize and/or sponsor international and regional conferences, meetings or courses; (v) to collaborate or affiliate with other scientific organizations.SEAFOMP has a complementary and synergistic relationship with AFOMP in moving medical physics forward in the region.
Since the formation of SEAFOMP, it has been organizing a series of congresses to promote scientific exchange and mutual support.About 110 delegates attended, representing 17 countries: Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam.The workshop attracted multi-disciplinary participation from medical physicists, radiographers, radiologists, radiation oncologists, biomedical engineers, equipment vendors, technicians, students, administrators, regulators, etc.The course also incorporates a scientific poster session for participants to present their works.Awards for best poster presentations were given.A mini trade exhibition was also held.

nd SEACOMP (Bangkok 12-14 November 2003)
The theme of this congress is "Enhancing quality in imaging and therapy in South-east Asia".This congress was directed by Dr. Anchali Krisanachinda and organized by the Thai Medical Physicists Society and the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University.The congress was co-sponsored by IOMP and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM).It also received the endorsement and support from AFOMP and European Federation of Organizations in Medical Physics (EFOMP).The IPEM sponsored travel grant for two eminent speakers, namely Dr. Paul Shrimpton from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and Dr. JA Evans from the University of Leeds. Figure 5 shows the program book cover for 2 nd SEACOMP.
The congress comprises of two plenary lectures, one keynote lecture, one refresher course, 14 invited talks, seven proffered papers and three posters.A new feature of the congress is the seven QA workshops on computed tomography, stereotactic radiosurgery, ultrasonography, single photon emission computed tomography, IMRT, mammography and brachytherapy.These workshops encompass hands-on and demonstration sessions.
The  6 shows the program book cover for 3 rd SEACOMP.
A most appropriate theme "Progress and Innovations in Medical Physics" was chosen to reflect the status and direction of medical physics in this fastgrowing region.The high scientific standard has been reflected by the 11 plenary addresses, 16 keynote lectures, 4 refresher courses, 1 symposium, 22 proffered papers and 28 posters.The topics covered include: biophysics, computing, digital imaging, dosimetry, education in medical physics, functional imaging, image processing, biomedical instrumentation, magnetic resonance imaging, medical electronics, medical informatics, modeling, molecular imaging, non-ionizing radiation, nuclear medicine, physics of human body, quality assurance, radiation protection, radiation therapy, radiobiology, radiological physics, radiology, regulations and organizations, signal processing, and ultrasound.A trade exhibition was also held.
The congress began with an Opening Ceremony graced by YA Bhg Tun Dr Siti Hasmah bt Hj Mohd Ali (former First Lady of Malaysia who was a medical doctor).Tun Dr Siti delivered her keynote address on "Medical Physics in Women's Health" (Figure 7) [2].8 shows the program book cover for 4 th SEACOMP.
The invited international speakers include: Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Dr. KY Cheung (Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China), Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), Dr. Karlis Gross (Biomaterials Engineering, University of Melbourne), Dr. Martin Law (Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong), and Mr. TJ Wong (National Cancer Center, Singapore).The local invited speakers include regulators from the National Atomic Energy Agency and the National Nuclear Energy Control Board, radiologist and radiation oncologist.
About 126 participants from 7 countries attended the congress: Australia, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden and Thailand.The congress consisted of 3 plenary lectures, 10 keynote addresses, 1 symposium, 26 proffered papers and 5 poster presentations.
A radiation dosimetry workshop was held from 9-11 Nov. This workshop consisted of lectures and laboratory work, and was attended by physicists from several hospitals in Indonesia and staff from the Ministry of Health.The trainers in the lectures were Dr. James Lee (National Cancer Center, Singapore), Mr. Mohd.Izhwan Goh (National University Hospital, Singapore), Dr. KY Cheung (Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong), and Prof. Djarwani S Soejoko (Department. of Physics, University of Indonesia).
The laboratory work was held at Radiotherapy Department, Pertamina Hospital Center and they also visited the Radiotherapy Department, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Center.The local trainers were: Dwi Seno K Sihono (Department. of Physics, University of Indonesia) and Indra Johannes (Radiotherapy Department, Pertamina Hospital Center).
We continued with the SEACOMP tradition to grant meritorious awards to outstanding oral and poster presentation for students.These awards were created to encourage students to embark on research and to promote the profession of medical physics.The judging committee headed by both Dr. KY Cheung and Mr. TJ Wong remarked that the overall quality was excellent and a total of eight awards was given out to the following students: Imada Fatma, Indra Yohannes (Indonesia); Nantaporn Naiyanet, Navapan Pitaxtarnin (Thailand); Mohamad Fahdillah, Chai-Hong Yeong, Hwee-Shin Soh, Saidatul Ardeenawatie (Malaysia).

th SEACOMP (Manila 21 -23 November 2007)
The 5 th SEACOMP, with the theme "Saving Lives Through Physics and Engineering" was organized by the Philippine Organization of Medical Physicists (POMP) and the UST Graduate School.It is supported by the IOMP Education and Training Committee, the Department of Health, the Department of Science and Technology, and the University of Santo Tomas.The local organizing team was led by Ms. Agnette Peralta and Prof. Lilian Sison. Figure 9 shows the brochure design for 5 th SEACOMP.
There were 124 participants from 11 countries: Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Thailand.The scientific program consists of 36 oral presentations, 6 posters and 16 lectures.In addition, there were 3 refresher courses on "QA with Treatment Planning Systems", "QA with Mammographic Systems", The 5th SEACOMP drew to a close with the honouring of the tradition of SEACOMP and in the spirit of nurturing young aspiring scientists and physicists.Prizes were awarded to the six best student papers upon the recommendation of the Board of Judges headed by Prof. Milano.The awards were given to Mah Yik Hoay and Wan Hazlinda of Malaysia, Thunyarat Chusin and Isra Israngkul Na Ayuthaya of Thailand, and Darrin Casipong and Hazel Faustino of the Philippines.

SEAFOMP -THE WAY FORWARD
Since the official founding in 2000, SEAFOMP has grown in strength and stature.Medical physics is experiencing rapid growth and we have witnessed the rapid deployment of PET/CT, IMRT, tomotherapy, digital radiology, functional MRI, PACS, and teleradiology in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.In order to utilize these modalities optimally and safely we need to keep abreast and be educated and innovative.Indeed, medical physics is well and alive in Southeast Asia, and we hope that it will continue to do so under the driving force of SEAFOMP [3]. The

Figure 1
Figure 1 Map of South East Asia.

Figure 3 Figure 4
Figure 3 SEAFOMP founding members posing with a plenary speaker (4th from the left).

Figure 6 Figure 7
Figure 6 Program book cover for 3rd SEACOMP.
two plenary lectures delivered were: "Status of Medical Physicist in Thailand" by Prof. Makumkrong Poshyachinda and "Patient Protection for Diagnostic Radiology in the 21 st Century" by Dr. Paul Shrimpton.The other invited speakers include Dr. JA Evans, Mr. Ahmad Shariff Hambali, Dr. Peter Homolka, Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda, Mr. Louis Lee, Prof. Franco Milano, Dr. RM Millar, Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Ms.The 3 rd SEACOMP was also the 4 th Asia-Oceania Congress of Medical Physics (AOCMP).The organizing chairman was Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng.It was jointly organized by the Department of Radiology, University of Malaya, Malaysia, Radiation Physics, Biophysics and Medical Physics Subgroup of the Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM), SEAFOMP and AFOMP.It was supported by the IOMP and Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).It was also endorsed by the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM), EFOMP, American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), IPEM, College of Radiology, Academy of Medicine Malaysia (CoR), and the Ministry of Health Malaysia.Figure Education and Training of Medical Physicists" where Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines shared and learned from each other's experiences.A postconference refresher course on "QA with Linacs" was also held for the local participants..The highlight of the Congress was the 2 nd John Cameron Memorial Lecture which was delivered by Professor Kwan-Hoong Ng of the University of Malaya, who is also the founding president of SEAFOMP and president-elect of the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP).Prof. Ng addressed the relevancy of medical physics in his lecture, aptly titled "Medical Physics in 2020: Will We Still Be Relevant?"Other invited speakers were IOMP President Prof. Barry Allen, AFOMP President Prof. Kiyori Inamura, former AFOMP President Dr. KY Cheung, IAEA expert, Dr. John Drew, Dr. Somsak Wanwilairat of Chiang Mai University, Dr. David Causer of the Royal Perth Hospital, Prof. Franco Milano of the University of Florence, and SEAFOMP President Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda.IAEA expert Dr. John Drew also gave a talk on the "IAEA Regional Cooperation Agreement Clinical Training Modules in Radiation Oncology Medical Physics (ROMP)" while Prof. Krisanachinda gave a talk on "The Experience in Piloting the ROMP Clinical Training Modules in Thailand." executive committee of SEAFOMP (2000-2006) • President: Prof. Kwan Hoong Ng, Malaysia • Vice President: Dr Anchali Krisanachinda, Thailand • Secretary: Ms Agnette Peralta, Philippines • Treasurer: Mr Toh Jui Wong, Singapore • Auditor: Dr Djarwani Soejoko, Indonesia The executive committee of SEAFOMP (2007-2009) • President: Prof. Anchali Krisanachida, Thailand • Vice President: Ms Agnette Peralta, Philippines • Immediate Past President: Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Malaysia • Secretary: Dr James Lee, Singapore • Treasurer: Dr Rachmat Widodo Adi, Indonesia We will continue to witness the growth and progress of medical physics through the 5th SEACOMP which is going to be held in Manila, Philippines on 21-23 November 2007 and the 6th SEACOMP to be held in Vietnam (2008).